Ordeals
by trolls-eat-fish
Summary: A new series about the Ordeals faced by everybody's favorite Tortallan men. First up to the plate: Merric of Hollyrose. Coming soon: Cleon of Kennan.


**AN:** ¡Hola, amigos! At least, I hope you are amigos... Anyhoo, I'm very excited about this new series.I had a veryhard time deciding who to do first, so I borrowed my sister's (Lela-of-Bast, authoress of "Tell Him." She is typing this up for me, because a chicken on stilts can type faster than I can. I owe her an advertisement fees...)Magic Tupperware(i.e.ordinaryhouseholdtupperware, with scraps of paper with character's names) and it told me to do Cleon. I told it no, I want good reviews. (Just kidding!) So, Merric is first. THEN Cleon. Please review and tell me what you think!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of Tamora Pierce's characters. I am simply borrowing them and will return them safe and unharmed. For the most part that is. This is after all, "Ordeals."

**ORDEALS  
****Chapter One: Merric of Hollyrose**

Merric of Hollyrose walked steadily into the Chamber of Ordeal, his hands clenched into fists. _Bring it on_, he thought defiantly. _I'm ready._

Merric was sitting in a meadow on a blanket. A young woman with sparkling green eyes and a wide smiled was seated next to him. To his surprise, it was Neal's sister, Marguerite.

"Can you believe we're going to be married in just two years, Merric?" she said, smiling. "I can't wait. Papa's so excited. He wants grandchildren so badly and he doubts that my dear brother Nealan will ever be mature enough to have them. Of course, I just want you to myself for a little while, but there's no harm in thinking about little ones. Can you just picture how beautiful our children are going to be?" Marguerite giggled, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Panic raced through Merric. _I'm not ready to be a father_, he thought. _It would be all I can do to take care of myself and Marguerite_.

Suddenly the meadow was gone, and Merric paced outside a chamber's door. Marguerite's cries filled the air. A midwife rushed from the room, grabbed some towels, and quickly ran back into it. Merric's heart pounded against his chest while butterflies fluttered about his stomach. _What's going on?_ he wondered, struggling to remember that this wasn't real.

There were more cries and then laughter filled the air as the wail of an infant was heard. Merric breathed a sigh of relief. He had a child. _I hope it's a boy_, he thought. All of a sudden he heard the surprised voices of the midwives and another loud outcry from Marguerite. He struggled to open the door, only to find that it was locked.

"Push," he heard. _Mithros_, he thought, _it can't be_!

The wail of another babe confirmed his suspicions. He was the father of twins.

A solemn-looking midwife entered the chamber where Merric waited.

"Congratulations, milord. You have two beautiful daughters."

Merric smiled and headed for the door of his wife's room, but the midwife caught his arm. He turned to her, a questioning look on his face.

"Milord…it's Lady Marguerite. There were some unforeseen birthing complications. She's lost too much blood…I'm afraid we're losing her."

Merric's heart stopped. He ran past the midwife to Marguerite's side, ignoring the two wailing babes. Marguerite looked so frail. She smiled at Merric weakly.

"Hello, handsome." Her voice was quiet. "I held our girls. They're beautiful." Tears streamed down from her face. Merric took her hand. Her voice broke as she said, "I knew, Merric. I knew that having these children would kill me. They have powerful magic. The Gift. All of my strength and healing went into these twins." Her voice was fading. "Watch out fro them, Merric. Protect our girls. Promise me."

Merric started to reply, to promise, but then he remembered that this was unreal. He clenched his jaw, unwilling to break his silent vigil.

_Yes_, he thought. _Yes, yes, yes. I'll protect them with my very life_.

Marguerite smiled as if she head heard him. Her eyelids fluttered, releasing two more tears which flowed slowly down her cheeks.

"Love you," she whispered. "Sorry I'm missing our wedding. I wanted to be your bride."

Merric's eyes widened as Marguerite's final breathed escaped her body. She was gone.

Merric backed away slowly from Marguerite's bed. _We weren't married_, he thought. He finally understood why no family was there, why Neal or Duke Baird hadn't handled the birth, why his own father hadn't been waiting with him. The twins were born out of wedlock, an event that was considered unforgivable in the noble class, to both the offending couple and the children. Most couples who ended up in this situation married as soon as the pregnancy was discovered, but it must have been too late when Marguerite found out to disguise the truth.

_And either Duke Baird or Nealan is probably the one that discovered it too,_ he thought. Merric took a steadying breath. _So I'm a father and a knight. Which duty is greater?_ he wondered. One glance at his daughters told him. Two pairs of bright green eyes stared wonderingly at him as he stroked the two small redheads. _My girls are my life now_, he decided. The midwives placed the babes in his arms, and he wondered at how something so small and fragile could kill a woman who was so strong.

A flash of bright red light reflecting from his babes revealed the answer.

_Mithros_, he screamed mentally, dropping the small bodies. _What are they?_

A cold, low voice answered him. THESE ARE THE DEMONS OF LUST. IT IS YOUR APPOINTED TASK TO FIGHT THEM.

_Why me? _Merric asked.

BECAUSE YOU YOURSELF WERE CONCIEVED OF THEM. YOUR PARENTS ALLOWED THEM TO ENTER THEIR HEARTS.

_That's not true_, Merric thought. _My parents were married when they had me._

YOUR MOTHER DISCOVERED THAT SHE WAS WITH CHILD THE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING, the Chamber replied. SHE TOLD YOUR FATHER TWO WEEKS AFTER IT. TO THIS DAY HE BELIEVES THAT YOU WERE BORN PREMATURELY.

All this time, the red light from where Merric had dropped his 'daughters' had burned brightly. Now it dimmed to reveal two enormous monsters, so grotesque in appearance that Merric was rooted to his spot with fear.

_How do I fight them?_ he asked silently.

USE VIRTUE, the voice replied. A white light flashed briefly and Merric found that a shimmering crystal blade had been placed in his hand. A golden shield rested next to his feet. He bent and picked up the shield as the first monster lunged at him.

Merric, finding that the landscape had changed to desert terrain, flung a handful of hot sand at the monster as he dodged its pounce. The beast uttered a horrible roar as sand entered its eyes. Merric took advantage of its blindness and jumped forward, striking out with his blade. It sank through the beast's exposed side to where Merric guessed its heart would be.

The creature disappeared with a shriek. The second demon circled Merric, its eyes searching for a place to strike. It suddenly leaped. The force of the jump carried it over Merric's head. He tried to turn, but the creature was faster, it struck him on the left shoulder, its claws ripping flesh open to the bone. Merric bit his lip until it bled, refusing to cry out in pain.

His shoulder bled profusely as he knocked the creature over with his shield. He plunged the sword into the demon was satisfied as it too disappeared. The pain of his open wound overwhelmed him, and he sank to the desert sand unconsciously.

He awoke on the cold stone floor of the Chamber of Ordeal.

WELL DONE, the Chamber said, its voice ringing in Merric's head. NOW THE REAL ORDEAL BEGINS.

The chamber doors opened. Merric's shoulder throbbed as he stood. He shuddered when he saw that a long purple scar had formed there.

A TOKEN TO REMEMBER BY, the Chamber said. DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME.

Merric stumbled out of the Chamber and into his parent's arms. Her raised his eyes to meet his mother's and opened his mouth to ask her why she had lied to both him and his father. He stopped when he saw her eyes. _Not now_, they said.

_She knows_, he thought. _She knows everything I've been through_. Merric closed his mouth. _All right_, he thought_. Not now. But you haven't heard the last of me. After all, I did promise the Chamber. And it hates to be disappointed._

**AN: **I'm having a hard time deciding who to do next (after Cleon). I am open to any suggestions for both characters and their fears/faults. I had a heck of a time coming up with one for Merric...


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